Nature Walk

This past weekend, my little family decided to be...um...outdoorsy.  We took a nature hike at a park nearby on a warm Sunday afternoon.  It was a lot of fun and we're so glad that we did it.  It was awesome to be out in God's creation with the family, as well as get some exercise.  We always enjoy Grant's comments on these little trips...here's a few:

"It's lovely out here"

"It's like we're on a bear hunt, but not scary"

"Hey, this looks familiar, we made it back"

Here are some pics of our new activity.  We can't wait to go out again when the leaves change colors!

My Little Artist

Grant has always loved doing artistic things...even since he was a baby.  Perhaps it's the fact that he is left-handed and right brained, but I think he is pretty darned creative.  He loves to draw, color, and create new things.  Of course his favorite thing to draw is cars and race tracks.  I recently picked up these paint brushes that have the paint right in the brush, and Grant loved them.  Check out this masterpiece:

His explanation: This is a car driving at night...see its headlights...see the moon and stars? That's the smoke coming out the back, and this is a pond and some grass and a bicycle on the sidewalk...oh and a flower.

GOOOOOOOOAL!

Grant started soccer last weekend on a YMCA U5 team.  Since last week it was pouring rain, and yes they still played, I decided to wait until this last game to get some footage.  Grant scored 4 goals in the first game and 5 goals in the second game...but who's counting?!  They play 4 on 4, the fields are small, and perhaps I should mention that there are no goalies.  He definitely is a speedy one and seems to be taking quite well after his mommy and daddy.  Here are some pics of the soccer star.  

 

Molly's Pick...A Good Laugh

I just had to put this video of Molly up. She loves to makes us laugh. I know it's kind of gross, but she thinks its hilarious. Enjoy!

Young Fives

Grant started young fives this year at St. Mark Lutheran School.  He goes to school Monday through Friday in the mornings.  It is going to be great for him to have some activity during the day.  Here are some pictures of his first day! (and some of Molly girl visiting Nona in the office)

Outside the school

In his classroom

Standing outside the giraffe room

170 Beats Per Minute

Most of you that read this blog probably already know that I am expecting my third child.  I've been a little blog shy about the issue, because I wasn't quite ready to put it writing.  Well...I feel like it's official now!  I had an appointment today and listened to my baby's heartbeat with extreme joy.  That little heart was beating so fast...170 beats per minute.  I have had a couple of ultrasounds before this as well, but there is just something about getting to this appointment and hearing that heartbeat out loud.  I must say, it is the best sound in the entire world.  On Wednesday, I will be twelve weeks pregnant.  I'm due March 25th, which seems like an entire world away, but I am getting more excited now after this appointment.  After losing a baby, you never quite forget that moment when they couldn't find the heartbeat, so this really does mean the world to me.  I still ask for your prayers for a safe and healthy pregnancy!  

13 Months Old

Molly is thirteen months old today, and I just wanted to jot some things down about what she is doing these days.  Sorry to bore you, this is more for me than you.  Months seem to be flying by now.  School will be starting tomorrow for Grant, so it will just be Molly and I in the mornings Monday through Friday.  At this point, she is still taking a morning nap and an afternoon nap, but I think that will be hit and miss.  When she sleeps in the morning, it's pretty difficult to get her to go down for afternoon nap before 3 o'clock.  So we'll see how that goes.  She has been taking steps pretty frequently for the past week.  Hopefully she will get it down pretty well in the next few weeks.  As she is now in her second year of life, she is definitely showing her "other" side.  She will throw herself down and arch her back from time to time, but her "fits" are usually pretty short lived.  She doesn't care to much for drinking milk anymore and usually screams when I give it to her.  She does not like to be changed, and she can be sneaky from time to time...with the stairs, with throwing lovey out of the crib to get mommy to come in, and "hiding" her food so she can get more.  She reminds me a lot of me actually.  She doesn't cuddle very much, even when she is sick, which is probably my fault.  I was so concerned about getting her on a good sleep routine, since Grant wasn't, that I was very strict about never rocking her to sleep.  I will say I miss that, but I think I'll take the good sleeper instead.  She has had two bouts of sickness in the last month, which I believe is all she has ever been sick.  She and Grant don't get along all that well.  And she has figured out that if she screams when he gets near her, I'll say "GRANT", and assume he is bugging her.  I need to be more careful with that, but he usually is antagonizing her.  She will bite him from time to time when he really is driving her crazy, and I know this is not a good thing...but I don't blame her.  We're working on it.  She is doing better with babysitters and strangers, and loves her daddy.  She'll sometimes stand at the back door and say, dada over and over waiting for him to come home.  And every time the phone rings...Dada!!  I believe she is going to be a daddy's girl.  She loves balls and cars and most of Grant's toys.  I think she may be a bit of tomboy, as she doesn't much care for dolls or girly things...at least not yet.  At her one year appointment, which I had just a couple of weeks ago actually, she was 30 inches long, and 20 pounds, 6 ounces.  I can't believe she is growing up so fast!

Taking Steps!

In the last few days Molly has really started to take more steps. She must have gotten some good advice from her friend Zach Leonard who is walking quite well now. Because after spending some time with him this past weekend, she really started to take off. She lets go of things quite often now, and still falls quite a bit, but sometimes she'll make it all the way across the room. It's crazy how proud we get when she does it. And her smiles of accomplishment light up my day!

Labor Day Continued

We have been so blessed to be able to go my parents place this summer on Lake Michigan.  It is always relaxing and always beautiful.  On Sunday, we closed out the summer with just our little family.  It was gorgeous and the water was so calm.  The kids had a great time playing the water.  I can't believe another summer is coming to an end.  Time is going by so fast!

Labor Day Weekend at the Lake

Saturday of Labor Day weekend, our good friends the Leonards joined us up at my parents lake place in Muskegon.  We had a beautiful day with plenty of sunshine and blue sky.  It was great hanging out, getting sunburned, watching the kids fill every crevice of their body with sand, and later sitting by the campfire roasting marshmallows.  The kids are growing up so fast and playing really well together.  It's always fun to see them and we always have a great time!

Grant took this pic...way to go buddy!

Matt and Ben lounging between a game of pickle

Lesley and Carrie...the mommas

Taylor, Zach, and Grant at the sand castle

Burying Grant

Silly Taylor

Getting ready for marshmallows and the sunset

Big man Zach walking around

Zach and Molly

Grant and Molly

Sunburned and loving it!

Funny Guy

My little Grant, who actually isn't that little anymore, is a funny guy.  He is always saying things that crack me up.  He picks up on a lot of little things I say, and when it comes out of his mouth, it's hilarious.  I get a lot of "you've got to be kidding me" or "now hold on just one minute mom".  He mixes words up from time to time and when we correct him, we get..."well, that's what I meant..." with a shy smile.  But my favorite is when he tells me a joke.  This was the one from yesterday that I thought I should share with you.

"Why did the chicken cross the playground?"  Why I say. "To get to the other SLIDE!".  Boy did I laugh.  It was super cute.  What a comedian!

Happy 1st Birthday Molly!

Molly - 1 Day Old

Her mini-cake for her to dive into...didn't quite happen. She didn't care for getting messy.

"And what do you want me to do with this?"

She did like it after cutting it up...the bright pink frosting was a bit intimidating.

She loves her new learning chair.

I can't believe it, but yes, Molly is 1!!! Her birthday was on August 7th, and I really don't know where this past year went. Time is definitely moving faster. It really does seem like yesterday when she was born, and I was still getting over the shock of having a girl. Here's a little update from last month:

She can stand alone for a short while now, and has started to take a few steps, but usually only one or two. It will still be a while until she is walking I think.

She loves sneaking over to the steps and seeing how far she can get before mommy notices.

She loves to eat!

She has six teeth with the seventh coming in. Three on the bottom and four on top.

She likes to say Uh-Oh.

She has decided she can crawl on her hands and knees now, but still prefers the army crawl if she has somewhere to get fast.

She cruises along the walls now.

She can walk next to us if you are just holding one hand.

She likes to play peek-a-boo, but sometimes puts her hands over her ears instead of her eyes.

We have loved to watch you grow over the past year, and your personality is really starting to show now. I can't wait to hear your sweet voice learn new words and watch you learn how to walk, and run, and skip. And I know that you are going to be a great big sister!! Happy Birthday Molly Girl. We love you!

Like Father, Like Son

I had to get a picture of this...

Grant has been "helping" daddy mow the grass every since he was eighteen months old. He follows right behind Matt pretty much the whole way. Then he gets out his "weed wacker" and his "blower" (other toys) and mimics everything Matt does. It is very cute and I love it, especially because it gives me a bit of a break!

Beach Day

Last week Grant, Molly and I headed out to Holland to the beach with my friends Carrie and Jen and their kids. It was a crazy day with all of the kids, but we actually did have a moment or two to catch up while the babies napped. So fun to hang with my college girls again. Thanks so much to Jen's grandparents for letting us bombard your beach house. We had a nice time!

Taylor and Grant

Jen and Gavin

Carrie and Zach

Zach, Gavin and Molly (Gavin telling Molly to quit yer crying already...)

Buddies Taylor and Grant

Michigan's Adventure

A few weeks ago, we headed to Michigan's Adventure. It's only about 10 minutes from my parents cottage, so it works out nice for us to make the trip. It was supposed to be mostly sunny but turned into mostly cloudy and a bit chilly. The kids still had a fun time, and I was a bit bummed that I couldn't get on any of the rides.



Getting ready for the first ride of the day...The Frog Hopper

Hilarious watching Grant and Ryan's faces


Best Buds Grant and Ryan


The only ride I went on...the Ferris Wheel


Papa, Ryan, Matt and Grant




Daddy and Grant (we did leave Molly back with Nona)





Bumper Cars...didn't do so much bumping as the car would only go in reverse...HAHAHA



Go Karts...somehow picked the slowest car...everyone tried to pass them and Matt kept trying to block them...again HAHAHA


Grant's Fav


The Waterpark...a bit chilly